Mustang folks out of bounds
SANGAM PRASAIN

POKHARA, AUG 27 -
Locals of Upper Mustang on Friday have threatened to bar tourists’ entry into the region from Oct. 1 as a protest against the government’s failure to distribute resources collected from the tourists.

According to locals, the Local Self Governance Act provisions that 30 percent of the revenue collected from a tourist area goes for development work of the concerned place, but Upper Mustang has not received its share for over 15 years.

As a result, the region still lacks electricity, roads, schools and hospitals. Food shortage is a perennial problem as the topography of Upper Mustang is unfavourable for crops.

The people of Upper Mustang say that the government is cheating them. “If the government had provided the fund as agreed there wouldn’t be all these problems that we’re having right now,” Raju Bista of Upper Mustang Youth Society said. “The government is simply taking from us and not giving back.” According to Annapurna Conservation Area Project, the government has collected more than Rs. 770 million in revenue through tourism from Upper Mustang, which started from 1993.

The government and the concerned ministries were informed of the people’s protest three months ago.

Rajendra Bajgain, general secretary of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN), said it was not TAAN’s responsibility to negotiate with the government.

The issue is one of resource allocation and the government is fully responsible for that. The matter has been hanging fire for a long time. “This shows that the Ministry of Home Affairs is reluctant to settle the issue,” said Bajgain. He added though that the locals do not have right to bar entry into the region as such acts will affect the tourism sector ultimately.

Spokesman at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation Laxman Prasad Bhattarai said that the issue was not associated with his ministry. He added that the Home Ministry is looking after the issue.

Jay Mukunda Khanal, spokesperson at the Home Ministry said that the issue was of revenue distribution and the Ministry of Finance should take a call on it. “We will dispatch a letter in this regard to the Finance Ministry on Monday,” he said.

The picturesque, majestic windswept landscapes, flat-roofed stone houses and their inhabitants who follow Tibetan culture draw tourists from all over the world to this region. Upper Mustang, a four-day walk from district headquarters Jomsom, is a place where foreign visitors are required to pay US$ 500 per head as entry fee for 10 days.

Meanwhile, the decision taken by the Upper Mustang folk has miffed tourism entrepreneurs in Pokhara who said that shutting off a popular tourist destination just ahead of Nepal Tourism Year 2011 was a bad idea.

Nepalis struck by wanderlust

SANGAM PRASAIN

KATHMANDU, AUG 27 -
Nepali outbound has been gradually increasing thanks to affordable tour packages and rising disposable income.

According to the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the number of Nepali holidaymakers visiting foreign countries increased by 26 percent to 27,679 in 2009 from 21,899 in 2008.

Tour operators say that the most popular destination for Nepali fun seekers is Thailand followed by Malaysia and Singapore. More Nepali travellers are making trips to European destinations and Japan too.

Changing lifestyles of the younger generation combined with simplified visa procedures and easy availability of tour packages have spurred Nepalis to travel and see the world, said travel agents.

Bhola Bikram Thapa, managing director of President Travel & Tours, said that outbound figures could double this year considering present sales trends.

Simplification of visa procedures by European countries has also encouraged Nepali travellers to spend their holidays on the Continent.

“Last year, we sold around 800-1,000 packages which represented a slight growth over the previous year,” he added.

An expanding middle class in Nepal is another reason for the growth in outbound. A recent report published by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) entitled The Rise of Asia’s Middle Class said that there were 1.41 million people in Nepal earning US$ 4-10 per day. Similarly, 230,000 Nepalis earn US$ 10-20 per day and 100,000 people make more than US$ 20 per day.

With the Dashain festival approaching, travel agents said that bookings were picking up. The holidays start from mid-September. Most of the bookings are for tour packages to Bangkok.

Marco Polo Travels, that deals in tours to Thailand, Malaysia, Egypt and China, has already sold 150 packages. Last year, the agency sold over 500 packages.

“People want to get away from their daily routine here. And these packages offer what they want,” said Prajita Satyal, sales executive of Marco Polo Travels.

“Nepalis prefer to spend their holidays in Bangkok because of the wide range of amusements available there from shopping and safari to speed boat rides and visit to Coral Island,” she said.

Marco Polo’s five-night, six-day package with three nights in Bangkok, two in Pattaya and a day trip to Coral Island costs Rs. 44,000 including airfare. Accommodation is provided in three-star hotels.

14 killed in Agni Air crash
SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG. 24
Fourteen people, including five Nepali, four Americans, Japanese, a British national and 3 aircraft crew, were killed when Agni Air’s 9N AHE D-228 (15-seater-Dornier) crashed at Sikharpur VDC-2, Bastipur in Makwanpur district on Tuesday.

Airport officials said that the incident took place at about 7;30 am while the carrier heading to Lukla diverted back to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) reported of bad weather.

The plane had five Nepali passengers—Ishwar Rijal, Ashwari Rai, Temba Nurbu Sherpa, Prakash Amagain and P. Sherpa-- and three crews—pilot Laxman Prakash Shah (Lucky), co-pilot Sophiya Singh and airhostess Sahara Sherpa.

Foreigners includes—Yuki Hayashe (Japanese), Taylor Jeremy (British) and Americans; Irina Shekhets, Levzi Cardoso, Heather Finch, Kendra Dominique Fallon. All the passengers were boarded in AG-101 scheduled the departure time at 6: 30 am.
Bimlesh Karna, manager, Air Traffic Section, TIA said that the cause of the crash was unknown however; the preliminary study shows the bad weather condition was behind the accident.

According to him, the flight contacted the control tower in TIA after 15 minutes of its take-off. “Weather was clear in both TIA and Lukla airport when the aircraft took-off but after some 15 minutes the pilot reported the control room that the weather condition was bad in the mid-way,” he said.

Airport authority said that the aircraft was in 35 nautical miles (in between Ramechhap and Jiri) when it encountered with heavy rainfall and clouds.
Responding the pilot, the control room instructed the aircraft to divert to the South direction i.e the Simara route.

Karna said that the flight was operated under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) system that needs the plane to approach 11,500 ft. Under this rules, aircraft can be operated at 1,500 meter visibility. While the normal flight ‘Visual Flights Rules’ needs 5,000 meter visibility.

The IFR is a regulation and procedures for flying aircraft by referring only to the aircraft instrument panel for navigation. Even if nothing can be seen outside the cockpit windows, an IFR-rated pilot can fly while looking only at the instrument panel. IFR-rated pilots are authorized to fly through clouds.

The gateway of Mt. Everest, Lukla had been reported of bad weather for eight consecutive days. Only, on last Sunday, a single aircraft made a flight movement. Agni Air was the first scheduled flight to Lukla on Tuesday.

As per the IFR instruction, the aircraft was directed to fly 16 nautical miles towards South but after the aircraft reached 8 nautical miles to South, the pilot again contacted the tower that the weather was clear there and the aircraft was making direct flight to TIA from that point, Karna said. “Since than, we lost contact with the aircraft,” Karna said. The control tower lost communication with the aircraft at 7: 26.

According to a source, Agni was stalled due to the mechanical problem. Stalls in fixed-wing flight are often experienced as a sudden reduction in lift. However, a stall does not mean that the engine(s) have stopped working, or that the aircraft has stopped moving. Stall problem emerged as the generator of the aircraft failed.

Binod Giri, Director, Aviation Safety Department, Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) said that the cause of cash cannot be identified immediately. “It can be either mechanical problem or weather problem that the accident happened; however there is no surety which problem the aircraft encountered,” he said.
However, Agni Air’s marketing manager Pramod Pandey said that the aircraft had had a regular check-up and there was no technical problem observed. The aircraft was added to the Agni’s fleet four years ago.

This aircraft crash has happened after a two-year interval. In 2008, October, the Yeti Airlines plane carrying 16 passengers (12 Germans and two Australians) and four crew crashed in Lukla airport during landing. Only the pilot survived in the crash.

Government forms prove committee
The government has formed a five-member committee led by aviation expert Kumar Prasad Upadhyay to study the plane crash incident on Tuesday.

The committee comprises Rajan Pokharel, deputy director of Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN), Rajendra Man Shakya, captain of Sita Air and Sharad Bhakta Raj Bhandari, engineer of Buddha Air, and under secretary of CAAN Suresh Acharya as member. The committee has to submit its report within 65 days.

Tourism ministers invited to NTY 2011

SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 22 -
The government has invited tourism ministers of 21 Asian countries for the inauguration of Nepal Tourism Year (NTY-2011). NTY-2011 is scheduled to be inaugurated on Jan. 14, 2011 in Kathmandu.

“We have sent them invitation letters,” said Laxman Prasad Bhattarai, spokesman of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA). The government has planned to organise an extensive meeting with the ministers on Jan. 13 to strengthen bilateral ties and promote tourism in Asia. The same day, there will be separate meetings of tourism ministers of SAARC nations.

Prior to the meeting of ministers, Nepal will hold a joint secretary meeting of the SAARC Tourism Working Committee on Jan. 12 where discussions will focus on problems and barriers regarding tourism promotion, said spokesman Bhattarai.

The government has also invited the secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) to attend the grand launching of NTY-2011. The inauguration will be held at Dasrath Stadium, Kathmandu.

According to Aditya Baral, director and spokesman at the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), the SAARC inter-government body will discuss the possibility of joint marketing, softening the visa regime, giving access to cross-border driving licenses, making Indian currency more flexible and increasing inter-SAARC movement by air by the national flag carriers of each country. “All these ministers will express their solidarity with the theme ‘We are together for tourism’ amid a gala function,” said Baral. He said that the NTB had proposed giving a public holiday to government staff on the day. The then Maoist-led government had announced the NTY-2011 campaign in October 2008 with the aim of bringing one million tourists in 2011.



Nepal, Tibet to talk tourism promotion

Delegates from Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China will discuss ways to promote tourism at a meeting of the Fourth Joint Coordination Committee scheduled to be held from Sept. 10-15 in Lhasa.

According to an official of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), 13 delegates from Nepal (six government officials and seven from the private sector) and three government representatives from Tibet will be participating in the meeting that will discuss tourism promotion in the two destinations and develop appropriate plans.

The official added that Nepal had set five major items in the agenda this year. They include issuing visas from the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu to tourists wishing to enter Tibet from Nepal, simplifying helicopter rescue operations in Tibet, resuming Nepal-Lhasa bus service, providing visas to tour and expedition operators on a visa reciprocal basis and royalty waiver for Nepali expedition operators in Tibet.

Nepali expedition operators are presently required to pay US$ 1,400-2,000 per person as expedition royalty.

Adventure options send young arrivals soaring

SANGAM PRASAIN

KATHMANDU, AUG 22 -
Young tourists are coming to Nepal in greater numbers thanks to a rise in adventure tourism opportunities. According to the annual report of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), the number of travellers in the

16-30 age group surged by 32 percent to 140,805 in 2009 up from 106,596 in 2008.

The rise in young tourists supplements the fact that more people are coming to Nepal for adventure tourism. MoTCA’s annual report shows that the number of visitors seeking adrenaline-pumping sports—high altitude trekking, mountaineering, bungee jumping, skydiving, golfing and rafting—went up by 26.81 percent.

According to travel trade entrepreneurs, Nepal has tremendous potential in adventure tourism, which has been identified as one of the fastest growing segments in global tourism.

Tourists in the 16-30 age group made up 27.6 percent of total arrivals in 2009, making them the second largest group among visitors to Nepal. There were 509,956 travellers to the country in 2009. “About 40 percent of the visitors are attracted by adventure activities, and these are young people,” said Aditya Baral, spokesman and senior director of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).

MoTCA’s statistics reveal a number of interesting facts. Tourist arrivals in the 0-15 age group almost doubled in 2009. A total of 84,891 visitors of this age group visited Nepal in 2009, up from 42,581 in 2008. “This is a significant increment; however, visitors in this age group are not independent travellers,” Baral said. He added that the increment in this age group indicated that more family visitors were coming to Nepal.

MoTCA’s statistics suggest that fewer travellers are visiting Nepal for leisure activities and meetings, conferences and incentives (MICE). The number of tourists in the 31-45 and 46-60 age groups—who normally come for holiday, business and official purposes—declined to 141,955 in 2009. The figures in 2008 and 2007 were 50,171 and 164,488 respectively.

Despite the drop, this age group remains the top segment accounting to 27.8 percent of total arrivals in 2009.

Arrivals in the 46-60 age group fell to 99,197 in 2009 from 121,387 in 2008. They made up 19.5 percent of total arrivals in 2009, down from 24.3 percent in the previous year.

New pilots face increasing hurdles in taking up jobs

SANGAM PRASAIN
KATHMANDU, AUG 20 -
An increasing number of pilots is being grounded as the domestic aviation industry is shrinking against the number of pilots emerging from each year.

According to data of the Airlines Operators’ Association of Nepal (AOAN), since 2008 May 30 to 2010 July, 194 pilots qualified for the commercial pilot license (CPL) conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

At an interaction organized here on Friday to raise awareness about the recent scenario of domestic aviation sector and pilot unemployment rate, AOAN said that that pilot aspirants were spending big amounts of money, with no result. Over the last two years, more than Rs. 540 million flew off to foreign countries for the pilot course. “One student’s minimum expenses represent Rs. 3 million,” said Rameshore Thapa, president of AOAN.

He said that looking at the market, there is no possibility of entry of new domestic players. “Although there has been rapid growth in the domestic aviation front since the last several years, the development of infrastructure and other physical facilities are discouraging,” he said adding that AOAN has been requesting the government to address the issue.

Issues regarding unemployment are becoming severe. Until now, CAAN has conducted the examination for the 44th pilot batch. “Some 650 pilots attended the CPL, and 413 qualified for the license. The pass percentage was 63.5,” said Yog Raj Kandel, general manager of Simrik Air and a member

of AOAN. CAAN conducted its first CPL in 1995. Pilots who have completed their course abroad should pass the CPL from the concerned Civil Aviation there and also in the country they represent from. However, looking at the pass percentage, the rate is high on one hand but there are no jobs available in terms of small corporate aviation in the country, which is sending these skilled people into depression, Kandel said.

Pursuing the pilot course has risen significantly since two years. According to AOAN, jobs shortfall for the pilots started since the 36 batch.

Before this, there was demand for Nepali pilots in both domestic and international aviation sector. Over 27 pilots are working in Indian aviation. “On July 16, after the Indian government announced giving priority to Indians, Nepali pilots have started returning from India,” Kandel said.

Rakshya Joshi, who completed the pilot training course in the Philippines said, “I invested US$ 40,000 (excluding other expenses) for a one year course as tuition fee.”

According to her, she has applied to several airlines for the job. “I am waiting for a call from anyone,” she said adding that she injected the money into her career.

“It’s not strange to be jobless, look at other professions - doctors, engineers and others all are suffering. It all about the country’s situation,” she said. Suman Pandey, general secretary of AOAN and chief executive officer of Fishtail Air said massive money needs to be injected to be a pilot.

If the student passes the exam, it does not mean that he or she has secured a job. The biggest barrier is that if a pilot after getting CPA does not fly any aircraft for two years his/her license will be invalid. The focus of this programme is to inform people that they are wasting big money on becoming pilots. “The way the economy is, there aren’t many airlines hiring pilots,” said Pandey.

Single-engine birds back in sky

SANGAM PRASAIN

KATHMANDU, AUG 20 -
Single-engine aircraft have returned to the Nepali skies after a hiatus of almost two decades.

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), Kasthamandap Air, Tara Air and Makalu Air are already operating commercial flights with single-engine planes. Akash Bhairav and Highlander Aviation are awaiting their air operator certificate (AOC).

The government had banned single-engine aircraft in the 1990s following a series of accidents involving these small planes. When Maoist leader Hisila Yami became tourism minister in 2008, the government took a bold decision to bring them back. The government's decision was based on the premise that single-engine aircraft were suitable in a mountainous country like Nepal. “It was not easy to convince the ministry to permit single-engine planes to fly in Nepal. We argued a lot to convince the ministry, and finally it relented,” said Air Kasthamandap’s chief executive officer Dorji Tsering Sherpa.

Single-engine aircraft are known for their short take-off and landing (STOL) capabilities on any type of terrain. A STOL plane needs only 195 m of runway to take off, and it can stop within 130 metres on landing while carrying a payload of 1,500 kg.

Single-engine aircraft have a 50-year-long history in Nepal. A PC-6 Pilatus Porter provided support for the first successful ascent of Dhaulagiri in 1960. “It was a Swiss pilot Emil Wick who flew a Pilatus Porter in the high Himalaya for the first time in the 1960s,” said Sherpa of Air Kasthamandap. Wick also trained Nepal Airlines Corporation pilots to fly the aircraft. NAC had a complete monopoly on operating single-engine aircraft for more than 30 years from 1961-98 with three Pilatus Porters. After the open-sky policy of the 1990s, more private players started using single-engine aircraft. The now defunct Necon Air was the first private carrier to fly the Cessna Caravan. Necon Air operated this aircraft for seven years. After the government re-opened the Nepali skies to single-engine aircraft, Air Kasthamandap became the first to acquire a license to operate one. It re-introduced the Swiss-made Pilatus Porter in Nepal. Currently, it has two Pilatus Porters and one PAC750XL manufactured in New Zea land in its fleet. Air Kasthamandap links Nepalgunj with remote airstrips at Simikot, Mugu, Dolpa, Bajura and Surkhet.

Makalu Air is the latest entrant in the single-engine club. The carrier recently started operations from its base in Nepalgunj. It has made a test flight to Talcha in Mugu with its Cessna Grand Caravan.

Tara Air, a subsidiary of Yeti Airlines, has two brand new Swiss-made PC-6 Pilatus Porters. The carrier currently operates flights to Langtang, Dhorpatan and Syangboche. It also serves skydivers.

Apart from the technical advantage, it is the cost that has prompted domestic airline operators to opt for single-engine aircraft. A single-engine aircraft costs around US$ 1.5 million while a Twin Otter or Dornier costs US$ 3 million. Likewise, operation costs are much lower. A single-engine aircraft’s flying cost is US$ 400 per hour while the flying cost for a Twin Otter is US$ 1,400 per hour.